WASHINGTON \u2014 Former President Joe Biden has told some Democratic leaders he\u2019ll raise funds, campaign and do anything else necessary for Democrats to recover lost ground as the Trump administration rolls back programs the party helped design, according to people close to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden privately met last month with the new Democratic National Committee chairman, Ken Martin, and offered to help as the party struggles to regain its viability amid polling that shows its popularity has been sinking, the people said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, Biden’s overture seems to have fallen flat. Democrats find themselves adrift, casting about for a compelling messenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whoever that is, it’s not Biden, many party activists and donors contend. He’s tethered to the 2024 defeat and, at 82, is a symbol more of the party’s past than its future, they argue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho\u2019s going to want Joe Biden back in the game?\u201d said a major Biden supporter, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for the DNC didn\u2019t provide a comment or make Martin available for an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new NBC News poll<\/a> shows that the Democratic Party\u2019s popularity has dropped to a record low. Only 27% of registered voters said they held positive views of the party \u2014 the lowest figure in the network\u2019s polling dating to 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Former first lady Jill Biden is also prepared to campaign and raise money for fellow Democrats as she and her husband settle into life back home in Delaware, a person close to her said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe recognizes that serving in the capacities that she served is an honor and it comes with responsibilities to the party. And she\u2019s prepared to help in any way she can,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Bidens are carving out post-presidential lives aside from the partisan political work they’ve volunteered to take on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each plans to write a book. As Biden develops a theme for his memoir, he has been consulting former senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior White House advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has been splitting his time between Delaware and Washington for meetings in office space supplied by the federal government. As was his habit as a U.S. senator, he often commutes via Amtrak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The onetime first couple were shocked when President Donald Trump abruptly announced this week that he was ending Secret Service protection<\/a> for their two adult children, Hunter and Ashley, the person close to Jill Biden said. They’d gotten no warning, another person familiar with the matter said. Their first question was whether their two children would be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bidens have been out of office for only two months. After Trump\u2019s first term ended in 2021, then-President Biden extended protection for Trump\u2019s adult children for six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though Biden is willing to help, Democrats aren\u2019t unanimous in wanting them to. Some party activists believe Biden is an admired figure who remains a draw inside a grateful party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jane Kleeb, a vice chair of the DNC, said in an interview: \u201cIf you were to call any state party chair and ask them if they wanted Joe Biden to be a keynote speaker for their annual dinner, the answer would be yes. He is beloved by the party and beloved by the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others argue that reminding voters of a 2024 campaign that went sour isn\u2019t the best strategy for a party that is grasping for a message and searching for new, younger leaders. A CNN poll<\/a> this month asked Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents which leader best reflects the party\u2019s core values. Only 1% chose Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more, the wounds of 2024 are still fresh, with many Democrats aggrieved over Biden\u2019s decision to run again and remain in the race until just a few months before the election, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris little time to organize a campaign of her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alan Kessler, a longtime Democratic fundraiser from Philadelphia, said in an interview: \u201cThere are plenty of people in the Democratic Party who were obviously very frustrated with how things played out last year, but there are plenty of people who still love Joe Biden.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the \u201cappropriate time,\u201d Biden can be an asset to the party by campaigning in selected areas, such as his hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania, but now isn\u2019t it, Kessler added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to move on with new leadership,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden has no pangs of regret, a person familiar with his private conversations said. He remains defiant and believes Trump\u2019s victory shows the party did itself no favors by pushing him to drop out of the race, the source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One person in particular seems eager to see Biden return to the political stage: Trump. The new president has used his massive following to ensure that Americans don\u2019t soon forget the old one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump has publicly mentioned Biden, Biden family members or the Biden administration an average of seven times a day since the start of his second term, according to an NBC News review of his remarks, interviews and social media posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, Trump has invoked his predecessor in some form more than 400 times since the inauguration on Jan. 20. In most instances \u2014 more than 325 \u2014 Trump has mentioned Biden alone. In about 75 cases, Trump has mentioned Biden family members or the Biden administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The context in which Trump brings up his predecessor often involves immigration, inflation, elections or foreign wars, as well as issues involving the Justice Department. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at the Justice Department last week, Trump questioned Biden\u2019s use of an autopen to sign documents, calling it \u201cdisrespectful to the office\u201d and “maybe not even valid<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Department blessed the use of an autopen in a memo in 2005, and the Constitution carries no requirement that the president sign documents by his own hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vice President JD Vance also uses Biden as a foil. At a tech summit this week, Vance took time in his speech to take a swipe at Biden\u2019s mental acuity \u2014 an issue that dogged the former president throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn defense of Joe Biden, he was asleep most of the time. I don\u2019t think he totally realized what he was doing,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked why Trump speaks about Biden so frequently, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: \u201cWe still very much are fixing so many of the problems created or started by the Biden administration. It\u2019s important to remind the American people and media why these problems exist.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n A defense that Trump supporters use in rationalizing his attacks on perceived political foes is that he\u2019s a \u201ccounterpuncher.\u201d But here, Biden has already left the ring. He hasn\u2019t thrown any public punches since Trump escorted him to the helicopter on Inauguration Day for his departure from the U.S. Capitol grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, Biden\u2019s first speaking event since he left office came last week with no fanfare whatsoever. He appeared in New York City for a conference of the National High School Model United Nations in Manhattan. Six months after having spoken before the actual U.N. for his last time as president, Biden gave a speech to its high school facsimile in a hotel ballroom. He also took questions and posed for pictures with students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe asked me about my future, and I told him how much he inspired me to go into the field of politics,\u201d said Suzy Radzinski, 18, a senior at Brighton High School in Utah, who met Biden on the photo line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n